 High Tea under the sails
Even a Sydneysider who has been to the Sydney Opera House on more than one occasion can appreciate the new visitor experience that the iconic venue has to offer. The first ever High Tea at the Sydney Opera House was launched in December last year, held at the Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant. Taking place on a regular basis, this event is no ordinary High Tea. In fact, there’s not a scone or cucumber sandwich in sight. This High Tea features a signature menu created by celebrated Australian chef Guillaume Brahimi. On arrival guests are welcomed with a glass of fine Australian sparkling wine, a selection of finger sandwiches, French pastries, petit fours and a pot of fresh tea or coffee. This is accompanied by a 25-minute opera recital. Soprano Hye Seoung Kwon performed at the first event. Enjoy the views, contemporary cuisine, and performances from some of the opera world’s brightest stars at a cost of $125 per person.
Well-known Australian business tourism identity, Anna Case, has recently announced the launch of her own Gold-Coast based corporate meetings, incentives and events planning company, SquareOne Events. Offering highly personalised hands-on service from a small team with many decades of collective events experience, SquareOne Events aims to position itself as a destination specialist for the rapidly emerging Northern New South Wales region of Australia, in addition to the well-established destinations of South-East Queensland. The company also undertakes several high profile events in the international marketplace and shall be looking to further develop ongoing relationships in the Asian marketplace to assist with inbound business tourism events coming to Australia.
The Federal Group general manager, sales and marketing, Jude Franks, announced her resignation at the end of 2006. In the past five years, Mrs Franks has headed up the sales and marketing team for Tasmania’s largest tourism operator, growing the division to now encompass interstate leisure, conference and corporate sales; intrastate sales; wholesale; strategic marketing and product development; advertising; public relations; sponsorships; online marketing; and a 24-person customer contact centre and group production services unit.
The right location and the right attitude proved to be the two winning points for a mining industry based conference held on the Gold Coast recently. Simon Fitzgerald, CEO of the Australian Drilling Industry Association knew he and his staff of just one had their work cut out for them when they first started organising their 2006 national conference. “Our Board chose the location mainly because we wanted to encourage people to bring their partners or family,” he said. “The Gold Coast is unequalled… there is nothing else like it in Australia. It has the beaches, the ‘worlds’, the shopping… if you’re trying to attract partners and families, there’s no other Australian location that’s as good. I chose Radisson Resort Gold Coast because I felt they had people there that I could work with. They were empathetic to what we were trying to provide but were also respectful about what I thought our people would enjoy. It was really important that I found people we could work with and right from the start, the Radisson team talked about their ‘Can Do’ attitude.”
The SCVB has unveiled plans for a new Sydney Conference Card which it says is a great way for members to access conference delegates and build their business events income. A first for Australia, the SCVB Sydney Conference Card is a trackable discount and rewards card which will be distributed free of charge to tens of thousands of business delegates visiting Sydney each year, encouraging them to spend with participating businesses. Delegates using the card will enjoy a minimum 10 per cent discount at participating restaurants, attractions, retailers and tour operators, and will also earn points on their purchases. These points can then be redeemed on future purchases, providing a powerful incentive for delegates. The card has been developed in partnership with Smartvisit Solutions, a proven provider of technology-driven tourism marketing solutions and smartcard technology. It will be piloted at a series of events from March 2007, prior to its official launch in July 2007. Visit www.sydneyconferencecard.com.au for details.
The Queensland Government is considering a major expansion of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre to ensure Brisbane stays a prime destination for national and international conferences and conventions. Premier Peter Beattie together with Treasurer Anna Bligh announced funding of $3.4 million for detailed design and planning work for a major expansion of the centre. The planned expansion of the centre’s convention facilities will target an urgent need to accommodate more conventions of 400 to 600 delegates. Treasurer Bligh said the preliminary cost estimate of the expansion was approximately $100 million but that a firmer cost estimate will be available once the initial design work has been completed. “Subject to construction funding being approved by the Government, the centre could be completed in early 2009,” Ms Bligh said.
To celebrate the first birthday of Velocity, Virgin Blue’s loyalty program, Toga Hospitality has announced that they are onboard as a partner. Toga Hospitality owns and operates 41 hotels and apartment hotels in Australia consisting of Medina Apartment Hotels (21 locations), Vibe Hotels (six locations) and Travelodge Hotels (13 locations). Toga Hospitality is also a redemption partner with Velocity Rewards and members are able to redeem reward points for stays at Medina Apartment Hotels, Vibe Hotels and Travelodge Hotels (subject to availability).
Cairns Port Authority and Tourism Tropical North Queensland have welcomed the recent announcement by Cathay Pacific to increase services to Hong Kong. Cathay Pacific now operates six flights a week between Cairns and Hong Kong - three direct services to Hong Kong and three services via Brisbane. Cairns Port Authority, CEO Brad Geatches said “the expanded Cathay services from Hong Kong provide much needed capacity for our existing Asian and European markets and our emerging Chinese market”.
Fusion Marketing welcomed around 150 Melbourne based meeting and event planners who attended the 2006 Partner Showcase, giving the company an opportunity to meet and discuss ideas with Fusion’s portfolio of leading suppliers to the industry. “The industry appreciates the benefits of a ‘one stop shop’ solution. They can come to Fusion to explore options across a diverse range of meeting & event suppliers catering for everything from hotels, venues, catering, theming, outbound ground operators, pyrotechnics and delegate transportation,” said Fusion Marketing director, Mary-Jane Zacchei.
Tamworth serves up international class
Just when Tamworth thought their selection of cuisine couldn’t get any better, chef Ben Davies arrived in town to turn the local food and beverage scene upside down. The new executive chef to Monty’s fine dining restaurant, Mr Davies was welcomed to Tamworth in early 2006, having travelled direct from the UK. And he’s not just any old chef either – Mr Davies is one of only five Michelin star chefs in Australia, and has received this prestigious accolade not once, not twice but thrice. A Michelin star is highly sought after and rates higher than a Chef’s Hat in Australia. Mr Davies’ arrival in Tamworth marked the first time any restaurant in the region has had a chef of this calibre. His previous endeavours with his world-class cuisine has seen him cooking for famous personalities including Pavarotti, King Hussain of Jordan, Prince Charles, U2, and world leaders such as Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin. At Monty’s, Mr Davies has created a menu that showcases Tamworth’s local produce including Peel Valley lamb, Nundle trout and Fin Farm barramundi, plus wines from the six vineyards in the region. He not only prepares food for the restaurant but also heads up the outside catering team at the Quality Hotel Powerhouse. Mr Davies will be at the Tourism Tamworth stand at AIME 2007 displaying and offering some of the best local produce Tamworth has to offer.
Australia’s premier ballooning company Balloon Aloft has won the top accolade for Adventure Tourism in The Australian Travel and Tourism Awards. Judy Lynne, co-owner of Balloon Aloft, said: “This award is quite special because we were chosen not only by a group of travel experts, but also by a popular vote. We have been in the business for 27 years. It is wonderful to know that our passion for what we do is recognised and validated by the people who mean the most to us - our passengers.” Balloon Aloft has locations in Camden near Sydney, the Hunter Valley, Canberra and the Gold Coast.
More than 250 delegates from all over the world recently converged on Townsville for the five-day International Ecotourism Conference which was held at Quality Hotel Southbank & Convention Centre. The conference program included overnight “Themed Streams” which took delegates into the region for hands-on tours of Magnetic Island, Charters Towers and a city based tour. Ecotourism Australia received strong support from the Townsville Enterprise Convention Bureau, Townsville City Council and many other local organisations to ensure its success.
The Chairman of Tourism Australia, Tim Fischer, late last year announced that Geoff Buckley has been appointed by the Board of Tourism Australia as managing director. “This appointment follows a lengthy process by the Board of Tourism Australia involving careful consideration of the very strong field of candidates from within Tourism Australia and also those external to Tourism Australia,” Mr Fischer said.
Bill Davidson has resigned as CEO of Staging Connections. The announcement was made by Staging Connections’ parent company AAV, which is changing its name to Staging Connections Group Limited.
Reverend Dirk Ficca, Executive Director, Council for the Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR) has announced that Melbourne has been chosen for the 2009 event. The State and Federal Government’s have each provided $2 million and the City of Melbourne will provide support valued at $500,000. “To Australia, to the State of Victoria and to Melbourne, congratulations on your selection as the site for the next Parliament of World’s Religions,” said the Chicago based Reverend Dirk Ficca. “Although we experienced similar warm experiences in Singapore and Delhi, the enthusiastic support and the unanimous decision was Melbourne. Melbourne was chosen for its hospitality, warmth, openness, its religious and cultural diversity and its ability to host big events. We also wish to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau to bring our event to your city. Their dedication and professionalism has been outstanding.” The PWR is the world’s largest multi-religious gathering and is expected to bring 10,000 visitors to Melbourne and inject more than $75 million into the Victorian economy. It will run for eight days during early December 2009 and will include more than 400 programs and performances relating to spiritual practice, religious identity, and intra and inter-religious dialogue.
The Townsville Enterprise Convention Bureau secured seven bid wins for the region between 2006 and 2008 with a projected windfall of more than $4 million for the region. These seven wins came from a total of 15 submitted bids for Townsville and North Queensland. The convention bureau conducted five bid famils which successfully confirmed new business including the World Disabled Water Ski Championships and the Ecotourism Australia International Conference. Convention bureau manager Dawn Combs said the 50 per cent success rate is better than average and Townsville continues to punch above its weight in the lucrative business tourism market.
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